Meghan Trainor dealt with mental health challenges after welcoming baby No. 2 in 2023.
“A month after having my second baby, I hit a breaking point,” Trainor, 31, wrote in an essay for Today published on Thursday, January 9. “I’ll never forget it, it’s like it was yesterday — I’m sweating, just thinking about it. I was holding Barry, my newborn, and he was crying and crying. My husband was with our toddler, Riley, putting him to bed, so I was alone with Barry and he would not stop crying and then I was crying.”
She added, “I was having a panic attack and I was just over-exhausted, but I felt like I was dying. I felt if I stood up, I would pass out. I didn’t feel safe holding the baby and at the same time I felt like my body was giving up on me.”
Trainor and her husband, actor Daryl Sabara, welcomed sons Riley and Barry in 2021 and 2023, respectively. Shortly after Barry’s arrival, the singer was aware that something felt different.
Meghan Trainor’s Best Quotes About Motherhood, Parenting With Daryl Sabara
“I said to my husband, ‘Daryl, I need help.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I’m here, no worries.’ And I said, ‘No, no, no, something’s wrong. I need you to take the baby and I need to make some calls. I need to call my mom. I need to call a doctor. I need help,’” Trainor recalled. “So I called everyone. I knew I would get through it, but I needed to hear from my support team that I would get through it. My doctor wrote me a prescription for a medication that would help me that night. I took it and I felt much better.”
Trainor had previously been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after eldest son Riley was born.
“It was months after the birth and I was having nightmares that I was still on the surgical table and I could feel the doctor’s hands inside of me,” she said, referring to her C-section delivery. “She said, ‘Right, so this is a form of PTSD and we’re going to have to talk through this and get through this.’”
Trainor previously struggled with her mental health while she was growing up.
“I was on antidepressants before I had kids. I’m kind of grateful that I had mental health issues before going into pregnancy,” she wrote in Thursday’s essay. “I had already figured out how my brain works. Going into pregnancy, I knew I would need to ask for help and be prepared.”
With her doctors’ recommendations, Trainor continued taking her antidepressant medication throughout both pregnancies.
“In the hospital, a lot of the nurses would look at me and say, ‘Oh, it’s probably because of your antidepressants.’ My doctors and my psychiatrist reassured me that wasn’t true.” Trainor added. “But then, during my second pregnancy, every day I was questioning myself, ‘Was that why Riley went to the NICU?’ I felt crazy. But I, again, stayed on my antidepressants the whole time, and my second baby was also born via C-section and came out crying — perfect.”
See Meghan Trainor, Daryl Sabara’s Photos With Sons Riley and Barry
After struggling with postpartum changes the first time, Trainor knew to ask for help when Barry arrived.
“My husband and I communicate about everything, even if it’s ruthless and honest,” she stressed. “I told him that during our first postpartum experience, getting up equally as much as he didn’t feel fair because I was recovering from a major surgery. I said, ‘I never told you, but I definitely resented you while you were sleeping and I was pumping and in pain.’ So for our second baby, he got up all night, every night, with Barry, and fed him formula.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
